Amazing Grace
by Ryan T. Nelson
Summary: Shinji is now alone. With his last companions death. but is he really alone?


Amazing grace, How sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me.  
  
I pushed you away. I fought against you. You, the one person who could be my equal. The man that saved me from my own pride and arrogance time and time again. I hated you. I despised you. But, I loved you. Sitting in the lake, having just woken from my coma. Afraid. I was so afraid, but I heard a voice, a sound. Mother? The Eva responded, I brought it to life and I fought.  
  
I fought for myself, I fought for you, and I fought for love. Then. My defeat. Pain. Searing, burning, pain from my left eye. The blood pouring down my face, my right arm ablaze in agony, useless, destroyed. As I descended into darkness I felt each impact, nine wounds piercing my body, and I cursed you for not saving me like you always did.  
  
I once was lost, but now I'm found.  
  
I had no other purpose but to pilot. I was lost in my own arrogance, and self loathing. I hated you after the 15th angel. You didn't save me. I knew that you had no way to save me but I still hated you. I was lost. Now, I'm found. You are my purpose. I must protect you, and love you. But most importantly I must apologize to you. For the slaps, and all of the hateful words, and torment that I put you through.  
  
Was blind but now I see.  
  
When I woke up, I felt your hands around my throat. Cutting off my air, and I felt the life slowly leaving my body. I raised a hand and caressed your cheek. I was blind to my love for you, but now I see. I see that I always loved you. Possibly from the day I first saw you my heart belonged to you. And now I can say it to you. As I feel myself slowly dying in this bed I can say the words to you that could have made all the difference in your life, so long ago. I love you Shinji Ikari. For now and forever.  
  
Asuka Langley Sohryu.  
  
And he wept. A lone man kneeled before a crude grave on a cliff overlooking a most unusual orange ocean. He put the paper down. Looking up his eyes landed on the grave. Beautiful dark blue eyes peered out from beneath a shock of gray hair. Hair that had once been as dark as midnight. His short cut hair framed an old and tired face. Lines at his eyes, belied his age, but those blue eyes were the eyes of one much younger.  
  
The eyes of one reliving a memory of long ago. The eyes... of a boy. Standing, he looked down at the grave. Filthy rags adorned his body, his clothes torn and ragged, hanging on his thin frame. Despite his obvious age, he seemed to be in fairly good health.  
  
"Lilith was wrong." He said. Turning he looked out over the ocean of LCL. He glanced back at the note in his hands; the note that Asuka had written for him before the sickness took her life. "Lilith was wrong." He said again.  
  
"No one else chose to return from the LCL." Shinji Ikari turned and slowly walked away from that lonely grave. And now for the first time in the 50 years since Third Impact, he was truly alone.  
  
____________________  
  
Mere seconds after Shinji disappeared from view, the sounds of footsteps were heard. Moments later a young boy appeared before the grave. He was about 14 years of age. Thin wearing a school uniform that once would have belonged at the Tokyo-3 public middle school.  
  
His blood red eyes studied the grave before him, while a breeze ruffles his gray hair. Gray not because of his age, but because of his nature. Kaoru Nagisa, the 17th angel stands before the grave of Asuka Langley Sohryu.  
  
"Hello Miss. Sohryu," he says. His voice is quiet and very calm. "Well it seems like you have had quite the eventful life haven't you?" he cocks his head to one side as if he is listening to something.  
  
"Yes Father I am bringing her now." Kaoru said to the air in front of him. Stepping forward he leaned over the grave and placed one palm on the upturned earth over Asuka's still form.  
  
He lifted his hand slowly and as it came level with his chest a pale form rose from the earth. It seemed to pass directly through the ground as if it wasn't even there then settled back to rest on the ground.  
  
Asuka Langley Sohryu looked her years. Her once flaming red hair was now gone replaced with the gray hairs of age like Shinji's had been. Kaoru held his hands out over the girl and her silent body began to glow.  
  
For several seconds nothing seemed to happen. But then, slowly a change could be seen. The wrinkles in her face began to smooth. Her gray hair darkened to a rich red. Her body filled out from the wasted thin frame to a more healthful look. Finally after a space of time no more than one minute a fourteen year old girl was lying on the ground.  
  
He bent down taking the sleeping girls hand in his own and slowly the two rose into the air. Asuka awoke and knew that she was going on. She had paid for her crimes and she would ascend to heaven. If there was a heaven.  
  
Looking down she saw the world spread out below her.  
  
"Goodbye Shinji." She whispered. " I'll always love you and I am always with you. Don't feel alone now." With these words a lone tear made its way down her cheek to fall free into the world. The tear glowed with the light of the sun filling it like a precious jewel.  
  
It fell down to the planets surface where it landed gently on the face of one Shinji Ikari as he slept fitfully in a camp he had built near her grave sight. As the crystalline tear settled on his cheek her whispered words came to him, and his troubled sleep settled. The nightmares receded and he slept peacefully.  
  
In his heart he now knew that even though she was gone, he was NOT alone.  
  
End  
  
Authors Notes: OK I know this fic is a bit... unusual. But I just HAD to write it. The idea just popped into my head one day while I was walking to work and I had to write it down it was just too good.  
  
I see this as Asukas way of making amends for all the hell she put him through. I also saw this as a sad fic. I had originally intended to stop it when it said 'And now for the first time in the 50 years since Third Impact, he was truly alone.' I thought that maybe it was a bit too sad though.  
  
All of my work to date has had too many sad elements in them and so far they all seem to be heading for sad endings. I thought I would end one on as high a note as possible. So here it is. Let me know if you liked it.  
Amazing Grace  
  
Written by Ryan T. Nelson  
  
Until next time. See you on the other side.  
  
Thanks to my pre-readers (and just friends that helped with suggestions)  
  
Réka Marosi. (Szeretlek Angyalom)  
  
Lord Deathscythe. (before you go into mad editor mode I AM working so calm down. ^_^) 


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